STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Silver is the traditional metal for 25th anniversaries, but it was pure gold on stage at Staten Island Jazz Festival 25, a celebration Saturday of all things jazz by Universal Temple of the Arts.

From the moment the show began, clapping and shouting and whoops of appreciation filled the air in the in the Music Hall at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden in Livingston, but never more so than when the Randy Weston's African Rhythms Trio brought the audience to its feet with its hypnotic beats and virtuoso performances by Weston on piano, Alex Blake on bass and Neil Clark on Drums.

It also was an opportunity to reminisce about how Universal Temple of the Arts was founded by the late Maurice Phillips, a "Renaissance man" who inspired a movement devoted to community and the arts. After his death, the cause was taken up by Sadja Musawwir Ladner, who has dedicated 47 years to UTA -- and 25 to keeping jazz alive and well on the Island.